Garden Walk Buffalo is looking for submissions of original artwork for use on the Garden Walk 2012 posters, t-shirts and maps. Artwork must be garden-related and should relate to the type of gardens, flowers, and neighborhoods found on Garden Walk Buffalo in late July. This is an excellent opportunity to feature your work to hundreds of local gardeners as well as thousands of visitors. Entries are due by Tuesday, January 31, 2012.

Garden Walk Buffalo made a restricted donation to the Martin House Complex back in 2007 to be used for the reconstruction of the clothes line poles restored in the gardens. The poles went up in October 2011! Yes, Frank Lloyd Wright designed clothes line poles too.

Visit Buffalo Niagara commissioned Ruth Diamond Market Research, Inc. for an intercept study, on site, in gardens of Garden Walk Buffalo this past year - focusing on attendees from outside of Erie and Niagara counties. Based on 574 attendees surveyed, 18% lived 50 miles or more, away from Buffalo. Below results refers to this 18% of out-of-town visitors:

AWARENESS

• 57% had never attended before, but of the 43% that had, the average number of times they'd attended in the past was 2.8.
• Word of mouth was the top source of awareness when asked how respondents found out about the event.  Media-specific responses included newspaper articles (Cleveland, Erie, Rochester, Pittsburgh) and magazines (Fine Gardening, Horticulture, Canadian Gardening, Better Homes and Gardens' Country Gardens magazine), garden blogs, and Internet (gardenweb.com, buffaloniagara.com). 
• 51% were aware that Garden Walk Buffalo is part of the National Garden Festival. 34% were aware of Open Gardens. 26% were aware of the Front Yard Garden Contest. 16% were aware of AAA Bus Tours.

ATTENDANCE

• 75% came to Buffalo specifically for this event.
• Respondents represented 21 states, Canada and the UK.
• The respondents’ “love of gardens/plants,” and interest in getting “inspiration/ideas” were the top reasons given for attending this event.  Many also considered the Garden Walk a social event.  

ECONOMIC IMPACT

• 74% stayed overnight due to this visit.
• The average number of days of overnight lodging was 2.9.
• 46% stayed at a local hotel/motel. Of this group, 44% lodged within the City, 38% in the suburbs, and 18% outside the immediate area.
• The following depicts the percentage of respondents who participated in each activity, due to being in town for the Garden Walk:
• Eating at local restaurants: 98%
• Shopping at local shops/stores/malls: 67%
• Visiting other sites/events: 48%
• The average number of dollars respondents estimated to spend in the area for this trip was $248 (23% did plan to spend over $400).

OVERALL SATISFACTION

• Satisfaction with the event averaged 4.9, with 5 being excellent.
• The most prevalent multiple verbatim reasons given behind high ratings included:  “Beautiful” (20%); “People / gracious people /open homes / thought and effort” (15%); “Ideas” (10%);  “Well organized” (6%);  “Variety” (5%).

OVERALL IMPRESSION OF BUFFALO

• 96% had an extremely favorable overall impression of Buffalo, with the average rating of 4.6, with 5 being excellent.

DEMOGRAPHIC SNAPSHOT

•     Average age: 55.5
•     College educated: 73%
•     Married:  70%
•     Average household income:  $83,903
•     Gender: 82% female, 18% male

MEDIA SOURCES FOR GARDENING INFORMATION

• Magazines 39%; HGTV 24%; Websites/Search Engines 22%; Other multiple-mentioned sources included garden clubs, garden blogs, garden centers, and word of mouth.
• 51% use Facebook on a regular basis.  11% use Twitter.

Conclusion:

One in five Garden Walk Buffalo attendees lives well outside Buffalo, NY, visiting from all over the country. Nearly half of visitors from outside of a fifty mile radius have attended Garden Walk Buffalo three items, showing its appeal as an annual event. The majority visit specifically for Garden Walk Buffalo, with half visiting other area attractions during their stay. Visitors stay for an average of three nights, half of them needing hotel accommodations. Nearly all spend their money on restaurants, a large majority on shopping. Visitors depart with holding Garden Walk Buffalo in extremely high regard and leave with a extremely favorable impression of the City of Buffalo.

Garden Walk Buffalo is a free, self-guided tour of more than 370 Buffalo gardens, the largest garden tour in America. Held annually on the last weekend of July, in 2012 it will be Saturday and Sunday, July 28 and 29 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. "There are Japanese gardens, English gardens, Russian gardens (i.e., barely controlled wildernesses) and what I would call Buffalo gardens - eclectic, funky mixes in which found objects and exotic-looking surrounding rooftops figure prominently." - Atlantic.com

In Buffalo, you’ll find small urban gardens that pack a big punch — including cheerfully brash juxtapositions of colorful perennials and unique annuals, minimal or no lawns, and creative uses of found objects and architectural artifacts as sculpture. A Buffalo-style garden will have the patina of a well-used, customized space, often with complete disregard for garden design conventions. Buffalo gardeners take advantage of the sides of houses and fences by hanging artwork, sculptures, grates, mirrors, plants and more— incorporating the impressive and diverse architecture found throughout every neighborhood.

Garden Walk has become one of Western New York’s most anticipated summer happenings. 50,000 - 60,000 visitors join us each year, as we show off our city’s beautiful homes and gardens.

Visitors flock to Buffalo’s West Side to pick up their maps and start walking through the gardens, which are located in clusters within a three-mile radius, with three headquarters at strategic points along the way.

Garden Walk rejuvenates streets, re-energizes neighborhoods, increases property values, and takes the chill out of Buffalo's image.

Here are just some of the places and things you're likely to see during the two days of Garden Walk Buffalo:

• Flower, rose, vegetable, herb and organic gardens; Japanese, English and water gardens; butterfly, pocket, container and rock gardens; sidewalk and community gardens.
• Multiple-level decks, pergolas, espaliers, outdoor kitchens, grape arbors, lighting schemes, fountains, wall murals, sculpture, koi ponds, waterfalls, potting sheds, carriage houses, playgrounds, playhouses, treehouses and a putting green.
• Victorian homes, Civil War-era cottages, secret houses hidden from view and turn-of-the-century mansions, homes by Frank Lloyd Wright and McKim, Mead & White, buildings by H.H. Richardson and Eliel and Eero Saarinen, parkways and traffic circles laid out by Frederick Law Olmsted.
• The place Teddy Roosevelt took the oath of office, the spot where President McKinley ultimately died, award-winning urban sculpture, unique shopping and dining galore.

The Walk takes place in several communities within the city's limits:

Elmwood Village

A freshly named historic district of the city, the Elmwood Village includes gracious mansions, century-old restored Victorians, charming cottages, splendid apartment buildings, landmark churches, synagogues and chapels, institutes, community centers and an unparalleled array of social services. Its “spine” is the renowned Elmwood Strip, Buffalo’s premier urban shopping district lined with international restaurants, quaint boutiques, a legitimate theater, library, small businesses, diverse bars, bakeries and a new wave of coffee shops. Feel free to wander, for you will find something unique around every corner.

Symphony Circle & Kleinhans Community

Frederick Law Olmsted’s 1874 Symphony “Circle,” now dramatically restored, is the gateway to a wonderfully integrated social, racial, economic and cultural community. With Saarinen’s Kleinhans Music Hall as its backdrop, this area’s historic Victorian-era architecture sets off an eclectic mix of city gardens.

The Cottage District (Summer Street & Union Place)

A close-knit neighborhood best known for its quaint 1850s-1900s brick cottages and Victorian homes and their exquisite gardens.

Historic West Village

Contemporary Victorian-style homes with old-fashioned country and perennial cottage gardens. Prime examples of innovative gardening in small spaces. City Hall’s Art Deco dome lights up the night.

Allentown

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Allentown is the largest and oldest of Buffalo’s historic preservation districts. Architectural styles include Italianate, Queen Anne, Second Empire, Workman’s Cottage, and many more. Allentown is a quaint urban village mixing quiet residential streets with a bustling business district of great shops, restaurants, and nightspots.

Columbus Park/Prospect Hill

This beautiful neighborhood offers architecture dating from the 1850s to the 1950s, as well as a quiet residential oasis steps away from downtown and the Peace Bridge. Many of the homes were built to take advantage of Olmsted’s Front Park, as well as the Niagara River scenery. A statue of Christopher Columbus is placed on the southeast side of Columbus Park, facing Porter Avenue. The neighborhood has been placed on the Preservation League’s Seven to Save list, as a portion of it is threatened with demolition as part of the Peace Bridge expansion project.

The Buffalo News cover story Friday before the Walk morning...

Garden Walk draws big, green thumbs up

Praises heaped as festival flowers

Atlantic magazine's website called it the "best event of its kind."
Martha Stewart Living suggested the host city may be the "epicenter of American horticulture."
And a gushing San Francisco Chronicle writer said, "It's more than a tour, it's a must-see event."
The notion that Buffalo and beauty go hand in hand may strike the uninitiated as heresy, but thanks to more than 340 volunteers, all of them avid amateur gardeners, that's the buzz being generated by this weekend's Garden Walk Buffalo.
"Buffalo has turned into the big time," said Richard Benfield, a professor at Central Connecticut State University and an expert on garden tourism. "At the end of the day, 50,000 people are coming to Buffalo to see your gardens." READ MORE>>

Our generous gardeners make Buffalo a destination  

When you think of cities known for their gardens, do any names come to mind? Savannah? Seattle? Portland? That's precisely the area Buffalo could occupy in the minds of folks throughout the country. Don't laugh. We're making headway.  READ MORE>>

Hotels in Buffalo near or at capacity

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - Hotel business is booming in Buffalo this summer. Many inns are putting up their "no vacancy" signs.

The Adam's Mark is booked, and so is the Holiday Inn. The Hampton Inn and Suites is also filled to capacity Tuesday night.

WATCH THE VIDEO>>

Kevin Kirkland, Homes, Real Estate & Garden Editor, Pittsburgh Post Gazette, (and a Buffalo native!) was in Buffalo for a visit and wrote this article, which appeared in the newspaper's Sunday, July 17 edition.

Garden Walk Buffalo president Jim Charlier was contacted by an AP reporter about garden tourism and the effect of Garden Walk Buffalo as a tourism draw specifically, and garden tours in general. 

You can read the full article here. as it appeared on the Huffington Post.

The AP report was picked up by the Wall Street Journal, CBS News, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Atlanta Journal Constitution, Huffington Post, Yahoo.com, Seattle Post Intelligencer, NOLA.com and more.

Garden Walk Beautification Grants have helped to fund 70+ garden beautification projects for a total of more than $30,000 in last seven years.

Garden Walk Buffalo announces beautification funds were provided to the following projects this year: